A group backed by individuals from Saudi Arabia and the United States has signed an exclusivity agreement to buy out Eagle Football and take a 45 per cent stake in Premier League club Crystal Palace, sources briefed on the proposed deal have told The Athletic.
The group, which includes Dallas Mavericks head coach Jason Kidd, former Morgan Stanley sports executive Bejan Esmaili and former Roc Nation attorney executive Wajid Mir, has had an offer for Eagle’s shares accepted.
The group’s funding comes from Mansoor and Haider Syed, two brothers who were born in Saudi Arabia but educated in the U.S. who led a fund established to buy a football club.
Its initial proposal fell below the valuation that John Textor — the largest shareholder in Eagle and one of Palace’s four primary owners, was looking for.
But the group has subsequently increased its offer, up from $185m (£148.4m), and that has been sufficient to agree a deal which, should they meet the conditions of the exclusivity agreement, will then be subject to Premier League approval.
Meanwhile, Sportsbank, a group brought together by the former Everton director and experienced football financier Keith Harris, is still seeking to invest in Eagle.
That could scupper the potential deal with the U.S.-Saudi group should Textor and the Eagle board decide to retain their shares in Palace instead. Sportsbank would not be buying out Eagle’s stake in Palace. Textor would choose to relinquish his position on the Palace board in the event that Sportsbank’s investment in Eagle is completed.
Both groups are now in the process of demonstrating proof of funds and undertaking the relevant due diligence.
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Any deal is expected to come down to who is first to satisfy the relevant conditions and signs a binding agreement to complete, although Textor’s preference remains that Sportsbank invests in Eagle and that money is then used to pursue a controlling stake in Palace.
The Syed brothers have met with the Palace hierarchy, including Textor and chairman Steve Parish, attending a match at Selhurst Park and touring the club’s academy. Esmaili and Mir come from a background of working extensively with high-profile athletes and would intend to bring that experience with them at Palace, while Kidd was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame and twice won gold medals with the U.S. men’s Olympic basketball team.
Textor has been approached for comment by The Athletic.
Members of the group have met with Palace chairman Steve Parish (Craig Mercer/MB Media/Getty Images)
In May, Textor told The Athletic that he was actively looking to sell Eagle’s stake in Palace and he had hired investment banking firm Raine to find a suitable investor to purchase the group’s share in the club.
“We’ve reached the point where we have a significant investment in a club we hold in the minority (in Palace),” he said. “We’re having extreme success in Brazil and early on in France, (and) to not have that same level of integration with our partner in the UK… it just becomes more and more clear that that level of collaboration we want and need works.”
Eagle Football “is simply not a perfect fit for Crystal Palace,” he added.
Textor originally purchased 40 per cent of Palace in 2021 for £87.5million (now $114m), helping to fund a successful transfer window and complete the redevelopment of the academy, before increasing that stake by around five per cent with an additional £30m. Further investment has come from capital calls.
There have been failed attempts by Textor to purchase a controlling stake in the club, which is also owned by fellow general partners Parish, Josh Harris and David Blitzer who each have 25 per cent of the voting rights. The most recent attempt came in August but did not “induce a response”.
Over the past three and a half years, Textor has struggled to make headway into purchasing a controlling stake and disagreed with Parish over the direction of the club, in particular with his multi-club model which includes controlling stakes in Ligue 1 side Lyon, Brazilian top-flight club Botafogo and Belgian club RWD Molenbeek,
Depending on which deal is agreed, Textor will either depart entirely or Eagle will once again pursue a controlling stake in Palace, with the Florida businessman becoming less involved.
(Top photo: Wagner Meier/Getty Images)
